Courtesy the Jerusalem Post:

An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday.

An initial report only at this point, but if true… well, like the headline says…

UPDATED– Go, right now, and read all of Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post.

I’m not going to excerpt it. Read the whole thing.

He didn’t technically do that of course, but I’m sorry, any fair-minded listener to what the man just said can’t help but come to that conclusion.

Paraphrasing generally:

1. It’s bunk to criticize someone for “moving into the district to run” when they grew up in an area, maintained roots in an area, and only left to serve in the military and then work with Phil Gramm and John Cornyn on behalf of Texas’ interests;
2. Pete Olson is a fine man, and a solid conservative;
3. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs once stood up and criticized me (Dan) during a pro-life speech I was giving, but I’m glad she’s changed her mind on that issue;
4. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs has also recently changed her mind and adopted my get-tough positions on illegal immigration, thanks for coming around;
5. Did I mention that Pete Olson is a great person?
6. It’s important to vote for the best person for the job.

Did Dan “officially” endorse Olson? No.

But I challenge anyone who just heard what he said to explain how they don’t come away with that very clear impression.

A federal lawsuit was filed today against the University of Texas by a white high school senior, alleging that UT’s race conscious admissions process unlawfully denied her a place on the Austin campus next fall.

According to a press release from the Project on Fair Representation, UT violated the Constitution and federal civil rights statutes by unnecessarily using racial and ethnic factors in making freshman admissions decisions.

Abigail Noel Fisher, a senior at Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land, seeks to have the university re-evaluate her application under “race-neutral criteria.”

According to the press release:

The present lawsuit claims that Top-10 Percent Plan is a successful race-neutral program that forecloses UT-Austin from considering a student’s race or ethnicity in admissions and that the University failed to consider and take advantage of alternative race-neutral means of achieving “diversity” prior to implementing their racially-discriminatory policies.

As you may recall, a Fifth Circuit decision in the 1990s prohibited UT from using race to make admissions decisions. Subsequently, the Texas legislature fashioned the “Top 10 Percent Law” which guaranteed the best performers from each high school would be admitted. Since the Top 10 Percent Law did not fill all openings, UT would award the remaining slots by considering a number of non-race factors, including the high school record, classes taken, test scores, and personal achievement (such as extra curricular activities, awards, work experience and community/school service).

In 2004, the US Supreme Court ruled that instituions could consider race in admission only if race-neutral criteria failed to achieve the desired student body diversity.

This lawsuit claims that UT officials immediately jumped on the Supreme Court decision and quickly re-instituted consideration of race into admissions decisions - despite the fact that the race-neutral process the school had used before 2004 had more than adequately served the purpose. It is this resort to race-based policies - when race neutral policies were sufficient - that the plaintiff claims violates federal law.

The complaint contains an interesting historical discussion of admissions policies at UT, and includes a statistical analysis designed to show that the pre-2004 race-neutral policies were working, so there was no justification for UT to rush back into race-based decisions. The complaint can be read here.

Of course, Ms. Fisher is certainly not the only person to be affected by UT’s determination to utilize race in making admissions decisions. Toward that end, the Project on Fair Representation invites other potential discriminiation victims to contact it at www.utnotfair.org. Readers are invited to spread the word about this effort to rebuff the social engineers at UT and require them to stop discriminating on the basis of race.

BENZION ADDS– LST is especially happy to announce that this lawsuit (and The Project on Fair Representation generally) are the brain-children of Edward Blum, last seen riding off into the D.C. sunset after fighting the good fight in Houston over Proposition A in the late 1990’s.

This living, breathing cliche of neoconservativism (i.e., a Jew hatching diabolical public policy schemes from his perch at the American Enterprise Institute) is back here in Texas, ensconced in Austin, and (hopefully, at our every urging,) planning a future campaign for governor.

The Lone Star State is better for it.

The Pulitzer Board has announced the winners of this year’s Pulitzer Prizes:

• Public Service: The Washington Post
• Breaking News Reporting: The Washington Post Staff
• Investigative Reporting: Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker of The New York Times
• Investigative Reporting: The Chicago Tribune Staff
• Explanatory Reporting: Amy Harmon of The New York Times
• Local Reporting: David Umhoefer of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• National Reporting: Jo Becker and Barton Gellman of The Washington Post
• International Reporting: Steve Fainaru of The Washington Post
• Feature Writing: Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post
• Commentary: Steve Pearlstein of The Washington Post
• Criticism: Mark Feeney of The Boston Globe
• Editorial Writing: No Award
• Editorial Cartooning: Michael Ramirez of Investor’s Business Daily
• Breaking News Photography: Adrees Latif of Reuters
• Feature Photography: Preston Gannaway of the Concord Monitor

Our beloved hometown rag didn’t make the finals in any category. Taking into account this year’s results, LST is still tied in the Pulitzer count with the 107-year-old Houston Chronicle.

Previously:

2007: LST, Chron maintain Pulitzer tie
2006: LST still tied with Chronicle in Pulitzer count
2005: Pulitzer Board shocks world, passes on LST

This just arrived in our inbox.

Dear Friend,

I’m proud to have the backing of so many important conservative organizations and individuals.

From Texas Eagle Forum, Republican National Coalition for Life, Young Conservatives of Texas, Concerned Women for America, the American Conservative Union, and twelve Texas Republican Congressmen to Dr. Steven Hotze, State Representative Dennis Bonnen, Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert, Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, La Porte Mayor Alton Porter, El Lago Mayor Brad Emel, and Pasadena City Councilman J.J. Isbell and dozens of other elected officials - all of these folks have recognized I am the true conservative in the Republican Runoff and the one candidate with the experience to effectively represent the 22nd Congressional District’s values.

However, today one endorsement stands out - I’m honored to call Edd Hendee a friend and strong supporter. This morning, thousands of households across the district will hear from Edd.

I hope you’ll take a moment to listen to his words and his reasons for why he supports our campaign.

Remember, Election Day is tomorrow and is our last chance to let Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in Congress know - this district stands for real conservative change and voters will not stop until Nick Lampson is replaced.

Thank you again for all you are doing to support my campaign - we’ve made enormous progress since we first began last year. Our victory tomorrow will truly be due to the grassroots activists and volunteers who have carried our campaign forward!

With Great Respect and Much Appreciation,

Pete Olson

Click on the pic below to hear Edd’s endorsement for yourself.

Feeling Andy Rooney-esque this morning.

Provo, Utah:

A 96-year-old man who outlived two wives is separated from his third - by immigration problems.

Canadian Doreen Buttery, 73, was a temporary visitor when she met Leonard “Woody” Woodward at a senior center in Provo.

96 years old, on his third wife, and the dude’s nickname is “Woody”.

They wed this year and honeymooned in Alberta - which gave Buttery the chance to sell her house and prepare to move to Provo permanently. But she hadn’t filled out the paperwork to immigrate and was stuck at the border as her husband took the bus back to Provo.

Buttery will… have to go through an interview, so U.S. officials can determine the marriage is legitimate and not just an attempt to bypass immigration rules.

Woodward said can still get by on his own, but he doesn’t like it.

“I need her home, bad,” he said.

I bet you do, my friend.

My advice–call corporate communications at Viagra… I guarantee they’ll sponsor your legal fight in exchange for some subtle product placement.

Good Luck to you, Sir.

Reading, PA:

A Reading man whose minivan crashed after he climbed on its roof while driving about 55 miles per hour is in fair condition this weekend.

Police in West Reading say the 38-year-old man later stripped naked and led them on a chase along the highway.

Authorities are not identifying the man, who is not charged.

He remains in a Reading hospital recovering from what witnesses call a deep gash in his side.

Police say they used Taser jolts and pepper spray during the chase Friday but only subdued the man when they tackled him.

I suspect drugs played a factor.

From the towers of academe:

A new brain-scan study may help explain what’s going on in the minds of financial titans when they take risky monetary gambles — sex. When young men were shown erotic pictures, they were more likely to make a larger financial gamble than if they were shown a picture of something scary, such a snake, or something neutral, such as a stapler, university researchers reported.

Neutral?

These so-called “university researchers” have obviously never “CER-CHUNK!-ed” a staple in their finger.

Finally, as a politicial candidate or consultant, here’s a headline you never want to see:

Obama Seeks to Affirm His Patriotism (AP)

Me thinks the liberal doth protest too much.

Barack Obama wants to make something clear: He loves America.

After a series of incidents that prompted questions about his patriotism, the Democratic presidential candidate is peppering speeches with explicit statements on his love of country.

“I love this country not because it’s perfect but because we’ve always been able to move it closer to perfection,” he told an audience in North Dakota.

And in Montana: “It’s a country where … I’ve seen ordinary Americans find justice, where I’ve seen progress made for working families who need leaders who are willing to stand up and fight for them. That is the country I love.”

The MSM spin in the immediate aftermath of the Rev. Wright scandal was that this was all no big deal, there was no impact in the polls, Obama had navigated these dangerous waters.

Well, I’m here to tell ya’–you don’t start peppering your speeches with assurances that your love your country without a good reason.

And if you’ve got to say it, there’s a problem; that’s a fact.

Fighting for individual rights, Oklahoma City, 1961

Fighting for individual rights, 2000

The answer for AIDS? 

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Dawn Wolf Design– LST’s full-service graphic designer of choice. Talented, professional, competitively priced; a generous LST volunteer, we could not recommend her more highly. | 713-984-9200 | website

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